MORIKI SHUZO

MIE

Known since ancient times as the land of the ninja, Iga is also the town that is home to Moriki Shuzō in the prefecture of Mie. Located in central Japan, Mie faces the Pacific and lies between the cities of Nagoya, Ōsaka and Kyōto. The Mie coastline extends over 1000 kilometers and contains beautiful rugged coasts and beautiful scenery. Mie is rich in nature, and as such over one-third of its area is designated as nature reserves and parks.

Rumiko Moriki is the 4th generation of her family to own the brewery, and along with her husband Hideki, they are not only the Kuramoto [Brewery Owners] of this tiny brewery, they are also the Tōji [Master Brewers] of their hand crafted sake. The first generations of the Moriki family had always employed a Tōji to create their sake, but during Rumiko's parents generation, times were financially difficult and so out of necessity her parents started working alongside the Tōji to make their sake. When Rumiko's father was unable to continue working at the Kura about 25 years ago, Rumiko and Hideki, who had recently married, stepped in and started working alongside the Tōji instead. Nine years later Rumiko and Hideki became the Tōji themselves. It was at this time that they committed to making only Junmai [Pure Rice] sake, at the highest level they could achieve. 15 years later the Hanabusa, Tae no Hana and Suppin Rumiko no Sake are the quintessence of their dedication to top quality brewing.

Nearly all work in the Moriki Shuzō is done by hand, the same way their sake has been made for centuries. Rumiko's motto is "a lot of hard work in the making of the best quality sake she can, means being honest to her customers". It is truly a remarkable brewery with a wood fired boiler being used to steam the rice, wooden vats full of steamed rice are carried on the Moriki’s and their workers shoulders, including up wooden planks to get the rice into the fermentation tanks. About 25% of their sake production is from their own organically farmed rice, and the rest is sourced from areas that specialise in the particular rice variety that will produce the best result for the style of sake they wish to brew. The Moriki’s still use Yeast Strain #6 in their sake which is very unusual nowadays, along with allowing wild yeast to start ferment in many of their sake.

The Moriki’s produce an Arabashiri version of each sake they create, which is always unique to see bottled. Most sake is made by pressing the freshly brewed sake, which extracts the most amount of liquid out of a brew for bottling. In the case of Arabashiri however, cotton sacks are filled with the freshly brewed sake [so liquid and solids together] and are layered on top of each other inside a traditional wooden press called a fune. Instead of pressing the sake they let the liquid slowly seep out due to the natural weight of the contents of the sacks.

MORIKI SHUZO - MIE

CLASSIFICATION:

Junmai • Pure Rice Sake

Daiginjo • Rice polished to 50% or less

Muroka • No charcoal filtration

Nama • Unpasteurised

Genshu • Undiluted

Arabashiri • Free-run

The Hanabusa is made from Yamada Nishiki rice grown organically by the Moriki’s which is polished to 50% to create a refined sake. Rumiko-san uses special techniques in the kōji room, such as using ‘futa’ the small wooden boxes for kōji production rather than the more usual large boxes as she wants all of her sake to have character and structure. This Hanabusa is arabashiri where instead of pressing the sake the liquid is allowed to ‘free run’ to create a sake with elegance and delicacy. The arabashiri version is roughly equivalent to the first 30% of the total sake captured. Hanabusa has a soft aroma of aniseed and fresh apple with a palate that provides fresh, smooth flavour with elegant sweetness with a hint of blanched almond and fresh apple and a long, warm finish. An amazing balance of finesse and structure.

MORIKI SHUZO - MIE

CLASSIFICATION:

Junmai • Pure Rice Sake

Ginjo • Rice polished to 60% or less

Muroka • No charcoal filtration

Nama • Unpasteurised

Genshu • Undiluted

Arabashiri • Free-run

This sake is named after Rumiko Moriki, who is the Tōji [Master Brewer] and Kuramoto [Brewery Owner] along with her husband Hideki. Suppin means to go bare-faced or without makeup and is designed to tell us how natural this sake is. A Pure Rice sake made without charcoal filtration, pasteurisation or dilution. The Suppin Rumiko no Sake is also arabashiri where instead of pressing the sake the liquid is allowed to ‘free run’ to create a sake with elegance and delicacy. The arabashiri version is roughly equivalent to the first 30% of the total sake captured. The manga graphic on the label of this sake is a very famous drawing of Rumiko when she first started brewing sake, as she was one of only a handful of female Tōji at the time. Female Tōji are still a rarity today with only around 20 in the industry in Japan. The Suppin Rumiko no Sake is made with Hattan Nishiki rice to create a sake with lovely earthy notes, soft textural palate, balanced acidity and a dry finish.

Yamahai is a brewing method, that along with the Kimoto method is generally only used used in specialty brews by artisanal breweries due to the extra brewing time and added risk in requires. Most modern sake are made in the Sokujō method where lactic acid is added at the beginning of the moto [starter mash] which makes it easier, faster and less risky than both Kimoto and Yamahai. The full name for Yamahai is “yama-oroshi haishi” meaning “discontinuation of yama-oroshi” which is the labour intensive step of making a paste out of the starter mash in the kimoto method. In 1909 Mr. Kinichiro Kagi at the National Institute for Brewing Studies discovered that if the starter was left alone, but kept slightly warmer and with slightly more water then the enzymes in the kōji would, over time, naturally dissolve all the rice in the developing moto with no laborious mashing required by workers. The Moriki still make yamahai and kimoto sake as they believe it is the real flavour of sake with better acidity, more body and depth. With age these sake become even more robust and layered. The Tae no Hana: Yamahai has a lovely earthy aroma with hints of cocoa, a full-bodied palate with a savoury cocoa butter character and lingering acidity.

MORIKI SHUZO - MIE

CLASSIFICATION:

Junmai • Pure Rice Sake

Kimoto • Original yeast starter method

Muroka • No charcoal filtration

Nama • Unpasteurised

Genshu • Undiluted

Kimoto is one of the most traditional ways of preparing the starter mash for sake. The Moriki's place the steamed rice, kōji and water into a small tub and at then at midnight they start the process known as ‘yama-oroshi’ where 3 people vigorously mash the ingredients with long bamboo poles for 1 continuous hour or 300 passes through the mix. Then at 2:30am they repeat the same process for 1 hour or 300 times. The final mashing occurs at 5am where they mash 100 times. The yama-oroshi starts at midnight after the ingredients have been together for a particular length of time and also because it is the coldest part of the day. Kimoto sake are rare to see due to how labour intensive the creation process is, also that quantities need to be kept small and because it carries more risk during the ferment period. Over the following weeks naturally occurring lactic acid bacteria will enter the mash which will produce the required lactic acid that protects the sake from spoiling from unwanted bacteria. The total time for brewing sake in the Kimoto method is about 4 weeks, around 2 weeks longer than the modern sokujo method. This longer ferment time and traditional mashing creates a sake full of umami, texture and lovely lactic notes. The Tae no Hana: Kimoto is made with Omachi rice polished to 90%, which means only 10% of the rice grain has been removed. Less polishing means that more of the proteins, fats and amino acids are left in the grain and helps create a sake with a richer palate weight and flavour. The Tae no Hana: Kimoto has aromas of freshly fermenting sake and pears. A rich round mouthfeel with a hint of spice and pear fruit. A robust sake where the finish is long, yet delicate.

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